Date set for Thomas Cook/MyTravel cuts
A decision has already been made on where the merged Thomas Cook/MyTravel will be based.
But the details of whether the new look company will be in Peterborough or Rochdale will not be announced until June 21 when staff will be informed of where cutbacks will occur.
Thomas Cook chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa, speaking at the Institute of Travel & Tourism conference in Gran Canaria, said the majority of the £95 million-plus cost savings would come from the UK, some in Germany, and the bulk of this will be in aviation.
Mytravel currently relies heavily on third party tour operators for its seat allocations and this would probably be where the changes come, he revealed.
He said there would be agency branch closures where the brands double up, but not when both shops are profitable. The Going Places brand will be retained.
“Even if we close the shops, we will offer staff jobs in other shops. We are looking to re-deploy all staff,” said Fontenla-Novoa.
He said TC would not abandon the package holiday, which generates a profit margin that is five times higher than independent holidays. But the merged company wanted to take on Expedia in the online market.
He said some of the tour operator brands under the merged group would go, but he stressed that there was not much overlap and that the merger has many strong brands
“We’ve got Direct Holidays, the biggest direct tour operator in the UK, and strong brands like Cresta, Bridge, Manos, Panorama. I will not be losing these.”
Meanwhile, MyTravel’s Steve Barrass has not so far been given a role under the new management structure (see previous TravelMole story) but Fontenla-Novoa said he had been given an offer with the newly merged group and was currently considering it.
“There is no way I’m going to let him go,” he said in a Q&A session at the ITT conference.
And Phil Aird-Mash, who currently heads up Mytravel´s tour operating business, has agreed to stay for another 12 months.
“I think he is one of the brighest men in the travel industry. I don´t plan to let him go either,” said Fontenla-Novoa.
by Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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